R. Draeger Jr.

3 Oct 2006-10-3
Diamonds in the Rough

One of my favorite films is Disney’s Aladdin which came out in 1993. In one of
the scenes the main villain, Jaffar, is looking for an individual to complete a difficult
task. He finds this ‘diamond in the rough’ in the hero, Aladdin. While my students are
not going to dangerous caves to look for priceless treasure, they certainly are
‘diamonds in the rough’.
Please, for one moment, think about how you perceive the Chinese people. Do
you have a positive view of them? Or perhaps a negative view of these people? With
that in mind, think about how you perceive Chinese Students. One of the many
challenges that I faced when coming to China was forgetting all I thought I knew
about the Chinese people and students. In the past few weeks I have now been
interacting with the students at the Ningxia Institute of Science and Technology.
A person this writer greatly respects is a Professor of English here at the Ningxia
Institute of Science and Technology. A few weeks ago this wise professor asked for
my assistance. He heard that this author was a good writer. He was most generous in
his assessment of my gift. He was the faculty head of a speech competition and he
wanted me to teach his students how to write a speech. This writer will say he is
grateful to my speech professor during my time in college for what he taught me.
Having said that, oration is not my talent, much less writing speeches. However,
doing a task is the best way to learn it. The further challenge was that I had only two
sessions in which to interact with these students. The Professor said that I did a good
job, and was once again kind in his assessment.
However, this writer has had the pleasure of teaching at my school for nearly 7
(chi) weeks. 1 My semester is almost over! In these seven (chi) weeks challenges were
presented to me in many areas. One (yee), I am not a teacher by training. Two (er), I
had to figure out quickly how to communicate with foreign students. Three (san)
master the art of making decisions. Hopefully this writer will be successful in
overcoming these challenges.
The rougher diamonds are my students in room 104, which is where this author
teaches Listening & Speaking. These students range in age from sixteen (Shir, leeoh)
to eighteen (Shir bah), they are essentially high school students at the Institute. In
interacting with them this teacher (Lay o shi) gives them lots of homework and keep
them on their toes while in class. With a little determination this teacher (Lay o shi)
will further their knowledge of English.
In this class my two eighteen year olds (Shir-bah) are very dedicated students. It
is this teacher’s pleasure to work with them. Unlike their fellow students they are
mature enough to pay attention. The one young lady, Anna, is soft spoken but very
cleaver. Her future will be very bright. Her friend, my only male student, Eric, is
overcoming the challenge of being the only boy in the class. I am impressed with his
creativity in overcoming obstacles. He too has a bright future.
At this point my students, in Listening & Speaking, are recovering from the
midterm test I gave them a few days ago. My other group of students, in Practical
Writing, is my pride and joy. They range in age from 19 (shir-gee-oh) to 21 (er-shir-
yee). They are college age students and present a different challenge for this writer.
In room 102 I teach these ladies the art of Practical Writing. They have all been
learning English for 7 (chee) to 8 (bah) years. The only regret that I have is the book
we must use for classroom lecture. This is because these ladies are capable of more
than filling out forms or reading ticket stubs. Some lessons are useful while others
could be torn out and used to fuel a fire.
These young ladies, who will graduate in 2007, are not afraid of any challenge
this writer presents to them. They write especially well in their weekly journals.
Through these journals I am learning more about their dreams, fears and goals. Except
for biological differences, there is little difference between me and these ladies.
At this point this writer will say that a native speaker is the best teacher of any
foreign language. So these ladies because they can pay attention, are teaching me a
little Chinese. On Friday (Shin-Chee-Woo) for about 10 (Shir) minutes they teach me
a few words. As a result, I will give them a test and they shall give me a test at the end
of the semester.
Further opportunities these young ladies have seized upon are the chance to
create a newspaper. During the month of October they will then be my journalists and
this teacher (Lay o shi) will become Editor-in-Chief. 2
Has your opinion of the Chinese student changed? If it did so I hope that it is for
the better. The opportunity to be here in Dawukou is wonderful; the only sad part is
that this writer has around seven (chi) months left here. This teacher/student is off to
learn some Chinese.

Zaijian

1. The letters in the parentheses are the Chinese equivalent. When I arrive in America
there will be a quiz!
2. Don’t worry. You’ll receive a copy of the newsletter.

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